With Chris, Rand and Shasta. Going by Diaz Creek looked about 2 miles shorter than via Ash Meadow, so that's what we tried. There's a well-defined use trail down to Diaz that leaves the PCT where it angles West - we followed Diaz then headed up the small creek NW of Muah until the slope on the left opened up, then headed straight for the summit. Firm sand and scree, easy to climb and a joy to descend, plus a bit of bouldering at the summit.

Took a long jaunt to Trail Pass, to Diaz Meadows, and finally to Muah itself. Diaz Meadows was a great approach. I suspected there would be well defined cow paths since there was a cow camp in Mulkey meadows and I was right! I loved that I kept running into cows climbing up Moo-ah mountain, haha. Most people seem to do this from Ash Meadow and I have no idea why

I went on a hike on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 to Muah Mountain in the Golden Trout Wilderness. It was a cool and overcast morning.

Our hike started at a trailhead which is about .25 miles from the Horseshoe Meadows parking lot. We walked down the trail and crossed to the South side of Horseshoe Meadow in Round Valley. We made our way to Mulkey Pass where we turned onto the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and headed East Southeast. Darker clouds were headed our way, and the hail that had been falling intermittently began to increase slightly.

After adding waterproof layers we continued on. We came across several meadows including Dutch Meadows, and we hiked next to Diaz Creek to the base of Muah Mountain. From here we left the PCT, and headed straight for the peak. Unfortunately the hail started to increase. Lightning appeared in the sky which was followed without delay by thunder. We decided that it would be a bad idea to gain elevation in such a storm so we opted to wait at the base of Muah Mountain for awhile until the lightning subsided. We took off all of our metal items, and sat on a log for about 40 minutes in the hail storm before deciding to turn back.

We headed back for about ½ mile, and of course the storm subsided. We turned back to Muah Mountain, and hiked past several false peaks to the summit (11016’). We located a register there, and a benchmark. The view is amazing from Muah Mountain, and some of the landmarks are Muah Mountain, Wonoga Peak, Trail Peak, Dutch Meadows, Olancha Peak, Kern Peak, Bear Meadow, Mulkey Meadow, Trailmaster, Cirque Peak, and Langley.

We went back the way we had come except for one part where we decided to check out what we thought might be a rogue peak. We did some class 3 climbing to the top, but we did not locate a register there or a benchmark. The weather was overcast on the way back, but we saw no more lightning or thunder, and very little hail. The total distance for the hike was 12.5 miles with an elevation gain of about 2800 feet. This was a great hike with a good friend!